During my active refereeing career and now as a supervisor and instructor of on-ice officials, I have always had simple philosophy on positional refereeing: Skate where you need to skate to see what you need to see.
Shouldn't be a novel concept, right? Should just be common sense, right? Alas, Thomas Paine would spin in his grave over some of the protocols that have been instituted -- both in the NHL and in European and international hockey -- that actually hinder officials from getting the best possible look at a play. It's just flat out bad coaching in the name of minimizing any chance of the referee getting caught up in the play.
That is especially true in plays around the net. There's an old saying in hockey that games are won in the corners but the money is at the net. Well, the same thing is true for referees. In order to make proper calls as to whether pucks are covered or loose in scrambles around the net, sometimes the referee needs to move to a better vantage point.
As a referee, I always sought out open ice with a good view of the play. I liked the areas down low where I could angle myself to simultaneously see, for instance, the front of the net on the left side and the point man on the right side.
I remember one time I worked a game in Los Angeles where I kept going to the non-congested areas with the best angle of the slot and net. Inevitably, I bumped into Wayne Gretzky as he arrived at the same spot.
"Hey, Wayne, are you trying to use me to run picks for you?" I asked when it happened for a third time.
"No, Stewy, you're in MY open ice," he said.
So, theoretically, I do sort of understand why the NHL supervisors don't want refs behind the net. I get that they want maximum operating room for players to make plays. But that's where hockey sense should matter. Officials need to have at as well as players.
In fact, I'd dare say that there aren't many Gretzkys, Mario Lemieuxs, Peter Forsbergs or Sidney Crosbys out there who are creative enough to constantly twist and turn to find those lanes and vantage points behind the net and away from the traffic. Most of the time, a ref can find an open area where he can see the net front WITHOUT affecting the play.
You know what ends up happening all too often? Referees end up too deep in the corners and calls get missed around the net and good goals get waved off because the sightline gets lost and there's no choice but blow play dead. As a matter of fact, that exact thing happened in last season's Stanley Cup Finals with my friend Wes McCauley, who is one of the best referees in the NHL today.
When referees hustle to get to the net and get the best possible vantage point, I applaud it. Unfortunately, the current day supervisors at the NHL level and many places in Europe criticize their referees for doing it and coach them not to do it. As a result, they too often set their refs up to fail and to make wrong calls because they are actually being instructed to stay in areas where they can lose sight of the puck.
Dumb, dumb, dumb.
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Recent Blogs by Paul Stewart
Bad Dreams Are Made of This: Some of Them Want to Abuse You
Pat Burns, Anti-Homerism, and the Hall of Fame
A Debt of Gratitude to the Fog
Officiating Teams and Two-Man Ref System
Unsafe at Any Speed: Hockey Equipment and Concussions
Defending Teammates, the Code and the Human Rulebook
Emery and the Aggressor Rule (Rule 46.2)
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Paul Stewart holds the distinction of being the first U.S.-born citizen to make it to the NHL as both a player and referee. On March 15, 2003, he became the only American-born referee to officiate in 1,000 NHL games.
Today, Stewart is a judicial and league discipline consultant for the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) and serves as director of hockey officiating for the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC).
The longtime referee heads Officiating by Stewart, a consulting, training and evaluation service for officials, while also maintaining a busy schedule as a public speaker, fund raiser and master-of-ceremonies for a host of private, corporate and public events. As a non-hockey venture, he is the owner of Lest We Forget.
Stewart is currently working with a co-author on an autobiography. 
Blogger •Former NHL Referee • 
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